Look at the world and what's your default? Hope? Hopelessness? Apathy? Overwhelmed?

Do you feel pressure, desire, guilt even, to bring life and hope to a world that desperately needs it?

Prior
to his death, Jesus’ followers were desperate to bring life to the
world around them, constantly pestering Jesus about when and how the
kingdom of God – their vision for peace and wholeness – would be
established. They wanted to bring life. Think of yourself, your
relationships, your community, our world... We all want to bring life.

But
then we fail. Brokenness remains. Like the disciples going to the tomb
to mourn, we realize our vision for life, however well-intentioned,
cannot sustain itself.

And
like the first disciples, we need to realize that we don’t bring life.
Jesus brings life. We can’t fabricate resurrection. Life isn’t about
trying hard. The concrete defeat of sin, death, and evil comes not
through brute strength or exercise of the will, but through the very
gift of love that can only come from the creator of life to begin with.

Easter
Sunday, then, is about recognizing life. The resurrection reality is
that amidst all our own failing and flailing attempts to overcome sin
and death ourselves, God is the One who overcomes. We don’t strive to
create life in the world, we realize life already in the world.

Holy Week, and Good Friday in particular, is a chance to reflect on our experience of darkness in our lives and in our world. And then we remember Jesus’ own journey to darkness – God with the full human experience of suffering. God walking this path of darkness we know oh so well…

We call it “Good” Friday not as a shallow acceptance of Jesus’ death on the cross and the benefits this brings – our typical use of “good” is not good enough in describing the reality of this day. In recognition that Jesus, in walking the path of darkness, takes on himself the fullness of death and sin and suffering, we reflect on a deeper good that reigns in the place of darkness. Lingering in the shadows of Friday, then, we already find glimmers of Sunday’s Light – belief that for once suffering is not in vain nor captive to the dark. This way of suffering – finally! – is the beginning of the end of suffering.

Growing
up in the Greater Vancouver area, I’ve always had an interest in the
intersection between faith and culture. As I’ve engaged urban culture,
from walking the streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, to meeting
personally with mayors, to observing the creativity of urban artisans,
I’m convinced that faith, hope and love reflect God’s heart for cities
as he sends us into the world (1 Cor. 13:13; Jn. 20:21). It’s with great
anticipation, then, that beginning May 1 I step into the role of Praxis Director at
Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, BC.

“Praxis”
literally means ideas and beliefs which are enacted, practiced, and
embodied in our everyday lives. For Christians, our “praxis” is the
reality that the good news of Jesus is relevant in every situation, in
every place, and for every person. At CBC, Praxisis a new one-year discipleship program that gives students an experience of the faith, community, and culture in the city.

Cities often represent conflicting realities: hope and despair; poverty and wealth; creativity and uniformity; freedom and judgment; equality and inequality.
Amidst such tensions, Christians can feel like “resident aliens” in
urban culture (1 Pt. 2:9-12) as we wrestle with how to live in the world but not of the world. The Praxis program
will lead students in addressing these urban realities through a
dynamic experience of cultural engagement, Christian community, and
urban mission both in the classroom and through practical experience.
Partnering with churches and ministries in places like Vancouver and New
York City, students will have a variety of experiences in the areas of
social justice and urban ministry, living out the missional implications
of Jesus’ gospel in their own lives.

I can’t wait to partner with
students in living out the gospel in the city!

I have Palm Sunday in mind in sharing the clip below - "Despair vs. Hope." So often our vision for God, faith, and the presence of Jesus in our world revolves around getting our way, not unlike the crowds cheering their "king" to only a few days later rejecting him for not giving them what they want.

In this clip, Stanley Hauerwas reflects on his hope and faith rooted in a time when Christians are "learning to live without power." Rather than despair, he suggests a posture of hope in not having to fix the world around us. In many ways, starting with Palm Sunday, Holy Week is about dying to ourselves and our own vision for life, and finding hope in another way - the way of Jesus.

Our
church is currently going through the Book of Acts. It’s an inspiring
account of the first church’s encounter with the risen Jesus,
empowerment by the Holy Spirit, and growth as a community of faith in
the world.

Modern-day
church goers should marvel as signs and wonders lead to spectacular
growth of the movement that would soon accept the label, “Christianity.”
In the early chapters of Acts, the momentum is palpable. Luke tells a
good story.

I
recently had a chance to reflect on one of these stories. Acts 4:32-37
describes the church being “one in heart and mind” as they shared their
possessions so that there were no needy among them. Such was the
testimony to how “God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.” As
a leader in a church striving to be “connected in community” this
example is both challenging and inspiring - church can indeed be a
community for better.

And then we read the first part of Acts 5 - Community for worse. Memo to St. Luke: great way to halt the momentum of a story!

The
story of Ananias and Sapphira is a publicist’s nightmare. The husband
and wife duo decide to attempt deceiving the community by pretending to
share all the profits of a recent land sale with the group, only to
withhold some for themselves. Peter confronts them separately, and on
both occasions, upon hearing his accusation, Ananias and Sapphira both
drop dead. For an infant religion trying to tell its story and assert
its credibility, Luke doesn’t do the movement any favors by including
this dark tale. What’s going on?

Well,
first, I don’t think we have to like this story. One can accept the
authority of the bible and still wrestle with it. In fact, to not
wrestle with stories of sin and death and judgement is troubling in its
own right. So I think we have to ask the hard questions of such
accounts, realizing as a pastor-friend noted, “This is one of the
stories which demonstrates the almost stubborn honesty of the Bible. The
Bible refuses to present an idealized picture of anything.”

The story of Ananias and Sapphira is loaded with misconceptions and assumptions. It’s helpful, then, to ask, what doesn’t the story say?

It doesn’t say they die because they didn’t give everything. No, giving was voluntary, not mandatory.

Nor
does it say God killed them. There is implied judgment/consequence, but
not of the explicit “lightning-bolt” variety. In fact, we don’t know
how they died. Heart attack? Supernatural intervention (God or Satan)?

It
also doesn’t say the group was struck with the fear of the Lord. Luke
just describes a “great fear” - not surprising considering the
circumstances.

And the lesson here is not that all people that lie will be struck dead. I recently heard someone reflect, "If God kills for this, how do we account for the amount of way worse sins in Christian history?" Which is another way of saying don’t build a pattern of application from
one isolated (and peculiar) story.

So, what does the story say?

Peter
knows more than most - somehow, and we’re not told precisely how or
why, but Peter is given special insight into the situation and
motivations of this deceptive couple.

This is clearly more than one situation of deception. Similar to the betrayal by Judas (Jn. 13:2) evil is at work - “How is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit...” (Acts 5:3). This isn’t a simple case of lying.

As
such, this instance of lying reveals a dishonest character, an
unwillingness to be fully committed to being of “one heart and mind”
(4:32)

In
terms of their death, Ananias and Sapphira seemingly die as a direct
result of this circumstance: evil has seized them and they are
consciously dishonest before the community (and God). This is not just
hypocrisy in action, but a hypocrisy that defined their life.

How do we respond to such an account of sin, evil, and death within the Christianity community?

Well,
in some way this story serves an example of a key reality expressed in
the Bible: sin leads to death. As Adam and Eve were expelled from the
garden, they became separated from the sustainer of life, God the
Creator (Gen. 3). As Paul summarizes, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom.
6:23). In confronting Ananias and Sapphira, Peter is the spokesperson
for this reality that plays out before their very eyes. As Greg Boyd
reflects, “they suffer the consequences of sin set in the motion since
Adam and Eve. They have chosen to reject God, not God punishing them for
lying… With a grieving heart (reflected in Jesus’ tears over Jerusalem
[Lk 19:41]), God at this point grants people their wish and withdraws
his protection, thereby allowing evil to run its self-destructive course
(e.g. Rom. 1:24-26).” Not sure this solves our discomfort with the
event itself, but does offer an explanation in terms of the
pervasiveness of sin and evil still in our world.

Yet
at the same time we don’t know the whole story of this couple. What was
in their hearts beyond this event? Like Judas the betrayer, are we
simply left to lament how some in the community are so overcome with the
power of sin and evil that death overcomes them?

Instead
of explanation, then, I would suggest we leave this story in a place of
ambiguity, lamenting that at times community is indeed for worse instead of for better.

And
then know this: God’s love and forgiveness overcomes our sin and
brokenness and even death. Yes, fear seized the community. But as we
know from other places in the New Testament, bearers of the good news of
Jesus’ resurrection declare, “Fear not” – God’s ways of life, love, and
restoration are beyond our ways of striving and despair. “Fear not”,
even in your darkest moments – for God still loves you. Know this love.
Accept this love.

Which brings us back to the first part of the story, community for better… Share this love. Meet the needs around you. Be of “one in heart and mind” in the midst of all that life brings.

These contrasting stories reminded me of U2’s song, “One”, with which I end my reflection:

Transition can be both difficult and exciting. Transition in Christian ministry is no different.

Pastor is my job, yes. But seeing as my job is directly connected to my faith. And my faith involves my whole
life, it’s safe to say, in some ways, that my role as a pastor is my
life. And being part of a community of faith as one of their pastors is
like adopting an extended family in which I get to share my life. Job
transition provides logistical challenges. Family transition provides
personal challenges. Pastoral transition combines all these challenges
together!

And
so it’s with mixed emotions this week as I’ve announced an upcoming
transition in my life. After nearly 4 years as associate pastor at Hyde Creek Community Church I’ve accepted the position of Praxis Director at Columbia Bible College. My
time as pastor at Hyde Creek has been deeply meaningful as I’ve seen
God at work in my own life and in the lives of this community of faith.
Our family has been blessed to share in life together with the family of
Hyde Creek. As I’ve said to many, thank goodness friendship isn’t
contingent on me being a pastor! Similarly,
I look forward with anticipation to my new role. The Praxis program is a
new one-year discipleship program at CBC focusing on faith, community,
and mission in urban culture. This new role extends from my passion to
lead and experience authentic Christian community that engages the
intersection of faith and culture in everyday life together. Looking
back and anticipating forward, then, I trust I will continue to be led
by my experience of the good news of Jesus both in the world and in my
life. “Whatever
happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of
Christ...you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for
the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27)

Hard to believe, this is the 500th post on my blog!Back
in 2006 I started blogging as a way to process my own reflections on
faith and culture as I studied at Regent College in Vancouver, BC. As I wrote at the beginning,
it was, and remains to be, a “chance for me to actually process some of
the thoughts and ideas that are bouncing around in my head.” And along
the way, this blog has allowed others to share in the journey of what
I’m processing. Thanks for the ongoing feedback and comments both on the
blog and elsewhere!A few interesting notes from my blog history:Since blogger introduced reader stats (2008), my top three most-read posts are:

Looking at labels, I continue to focus primarily on topics of Christianity, church, and culture, which likely isn’t surprising considering my role as a pastor and teacher. In terms of blogging overall, people often ask me two questions:

Why blog?

Is blogging worth it?

I
blog because it’s helpful for me to process my thoughts and experiences
- blogging allows me to reflect concretely on my life and the world
around me. In many ways, blogging ends up being largely an exercise in
self-reflection - I hate to say therapeutic, but at the very least it
brings balance and perspective to my-often jumbled mind. And the chance
to share some of this reflection with others along the way reminds me
that I’m not the first, nor the last to reflect on these issues of
religion and culture. The
second question is a little more subjective. Self-imposed pressure to
post 2-3 times weekly can create unnecessary stress - it is just a blog
afterall! And really, I’m not making any money, so why put so much
energy in such a time-consuming endeavor? Essentially, then, I’m back to
the “why” question. And to me, blogging has definitely been worth it,
personally and in the chance to engage others be it on the blog or in
personal conversation. Will I have another 500 posts? Who knows!?! Will I continue to reflect, process, and share my considerations on faith, community, and culture? Absolutely!

I've written and blogged a fair bit about the missional church, noting along the way just how diverse the term and expressions of it can be in Christianity. I came across this little clip recently that tries to clear up any confusion:

There
have been many studies conducted recently on young adults and faith. In
Canada, one recent study is Hemorrhaging Faith, which examines current
trends in 18-34 year-olds who were “raised Christian.” The results aren’t particularly surprising. In a society of immense diversity with very little social pressure for
formal religious involvement (in fact, the opposite is likely the case
in my opinion), it makes sense that young adults don’t remain involved
in the church beyond their childhood years. I
had the opportunity of hearing from two of the study’s researchers this
week as they made a series of presentations at Columbia Bible College -
Rachel Harder and James Penner. I’ll admit, particularly based on the
study’s title, I was expecting a pessimistic, “doom and gloom”
reflection on the state of youth and religion in Canada today. After
all, "hemorrhaging” isn’t exactly the term a pastor or a parent (of
which I am both) likes to hear about the people he or she leads. And
yes, the statistics themselves reveal trends away from the church
involvement of people’s childhood (about 2/3 of respondents). The
numbers themselves could make one think the demise of the church is upon
us! Yet
throughout the presentation, Harder and Penner shared an optimism and
understanding of our culture that was far from negative. In fact, the
changing nature of church culture, Penner reminded us, may in fact be a
sign of vibrancy in the spirituality of today’s youth. Penner referred
to a little-known book by Eugene Peterson, in which Peterson addresses
this “‘youth’ problem”: "Yet another person is beginning to sense the personal dimensions of a relationship with God and realize that the saying no is the first step in discovering how to say yes...Parents
[and I would add Christians in general] can hardly prefer that a child
blandly and impersonally continue in a stream of institutional religion,
inheriting faith thirdhand: they will want a free, adult relationship
with Christ." (Like Dew Your Youth)I
get that “Hemorrhaging Faith” describes the oftentimes “uncontrollable loss or outflow” of young adults from churches - it is an apt
description of a social reality. I can’t help but think, however, that
the negative connotations of such a label can distract from the great
hope that exists for the future of the church within this
“next generation” - hope that emerges from a generation desiring
authenticity, honesty, depth, hospitality, flexibility, and meaning that
engages the world around us. Sociologically, Christianity is a changing
faith which in part includes declining formal involvement. But such
change should not require a default pessimism or despair at the future
of Christianity. Growth doesn’t always mean more. In fact, perhaps the
“mustard seed” of engaged young adults, enabled by the Spirit of God, is
the precise hope we need in this time of changing faith.

We
live in a culture of quick judgements, even in everyday life. Often our
daily attention is governed by judgement: Is that tv show worth my
attention? Is that view worth my gaze? Is that person (!!!) worth my
time? Time (and attention) is money, or something along those lines. When
was the last time you stopped and observed your surroundings? More so,
when have you paid attention without defaulting to judgement? For
example, observing nature for the sake of observation. Or people
watching without people-judging? Or paying attention to the intricacies
of day-to-day life - sights, sounds, and smells? Such
attentiveness doesn’t always come naturally. Much of everyday life is
governed by objectives that afford little to something as trivial as
attentiveness. And in many ways, this is unavoidable and necessary to
live a life of meaning and conviction. We can’t know everything and
everyone in-depth. But too often our conviction comes without any
genuine knowledge and understanding. In the frenetic pace of modern
life, where speed of information is more important than depth of
information, we neglect the simple art of attentiveness. I’m reminded of an insight from Robert Pirsig’s classic, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:“We’re
in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The
result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that
leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry
that it’s all gone.” Beyond
a lack of daily interaction, I think such “monotony” can apply to
everyday life as well. “We never get much chance to...” well, pay
attention.We know about our beautiful world, but do we know our world?We know about our neighbors, but do we know our neighbors?I
went for a brief walk one morning earlier this week. I’ll admit, I was
distracted. I walked and reflected. But it was mostly “productive”
thinking - class lecture, sermon preparation, upcoming meetings (all
important things). I managed to post this picture on Instagram
(attentiveness or needing attention?). For a few moments, however, an
attentive silence drowned out the noise of my distracted mind. Crisp
air. Ebbing tide. Snow capped mountains. Frost crawling across the lines
of a wooden boardwalk. And while distraction quickly reclaimed its
place in my mind, these moments of attentiveness reminded me that
efficiency cannot only be a matter of pace, but also of value and depth.
Maybe the most productive thing you’ll all week is to simply stop for a
moment. And instead of busyness, practice attentiveness.